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Pupils and teachers from West Sussex have taken their fight for fairer school funding to Downing Street.

Campaigners say schools in their area receive £44 million pounds less than the national average. Some headteachers say they face having to lose staff and increase the number of children in their classes. They're calling for £20 million pounds to be made available.

A little girl whose identity is unknown and whose parents cannot be found should be placed for adoption according to a High Court judge.

The youngster was taken into care earlier this year after social services staff at West Sussex County Council became concerned as a result of a call from a member of the public. Council staff and police launched investigations - and made a public appeal -in a bid to trace the little girl's parents but without success.

Mr Justice Hayden, who has analysed the little girl's case concluded that the authorities have all decided that she should be placed for adoption. The judge said all "realistic avenues" had been pursued - although he urged anyone with information to come forward.

He said council staff had named the little girl Jade - and a paediatrician thought that she was about two.

Police said the youngster had been found in Crawley in March.

"We really need to find out who this little girl's parents are. She may have connections to Crawley and West Sussex as well as Tooting or south London more generally. We ask that anyone who may know anything about her speaks to us.

"We are appealing in particular to those in the local Crawley and West Sussex area, the wider Ugandan community, or anyone who knows of a woman who has been caring for a young girl meeting the description until recently."

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Kent, West Sussex and Surrey Councils have handed out thousands of fines to parents who take their children out of school during term time.
Kent has issued the highest number of fines in the country, over 4366.
West Sussex handed out 2,402 fines and Surrey 1904.

The highest number of fines were handed out in Kent

The new rules were introduced two years ago by the government to crack down on absence and fines introduced. Many parents though, have carried on taking their children out so they can go on holiday at a time when its much cheaper.

The Local Government Association though is angry at the blanket ban on unauthorised leave, calling the system unfair.

Trees falling on power lines have disrupted supplies in West Sussex nine times in the past year

A team of 150 workers is to carry out Southern Electric's biggest ever tree cutting programme - in a bid to reduce the number of power cuts in West Sussex.

Fallen trees hitting power lines or interfering with the network have caused nine power outages in the past year alone. The firm is spending £350,000 on the one-day operation which will see tree cutters, engineers and contractors working in Milland, Redford and Linch. Power will be turned off between 8am - 6pm in the areas with electricity being provided through temporary power generators where possible.

"We are not just minimising the risk of a power cut during high winds, but we are also reducing the number of planned outages that are needed to carry out installation of new equipment and routine tree cutting work. By doing the work in one day, and on this scale, means we don't have to keep switching off the network in the area."

– Chris Anderson, SEPD's Tree Cutting Field Manager

Tree cutters will cut back trees over an area of 200,000 square metres

The entire project will cover an area of 200,000 sq. metres. The firm has reassured the public that only vegetation and dead trees will be removed if they pose a significant threat to the network and are within falling distance of an overhead line.

The company is setting up a mobile welfare and information point to provide free hot food and drinks, as well as charging facilities for customers' mobile phones and tablets.

Five cars have been involved in a serious accident on the M23 London bound in West Sussex. The road is closed between junction 10 A2011/ A264 (Crawley) and M25 junction 7, congestion is to junction 11 A23 (Pease Pottage).

The accident happened at 12:05 this afternoon, two miles after junction 9. The carriageway is now fully closed back from junction 10, and is likely to remain closed until late afternoon for investigation work and recovery.

Brighton & Hove's homeless crisis has reached unprecedented levels according to a new report by the city's housing trust.

In the last year almost six hundred people have been reported as sleeping rough in the city. A lack of affordable homes, alcohol and drug abuse, and a poor support network for people with mental illnesses have all been blamed for the rise.

In the video below, Andy Winter from Brighton Housing Trust tells ITV Meridian how the situation is worsening.